Yeah, but look, obviously, I’m not against sequels. I did a sequel and really enjoyed it. I’m doing another one now. Many of my favorite movies are sequels. But I do worry when it’s taking up more than fifty percent of the big-budget bandwidth, the collective bandwidth of Hollywood, it starts to worry me because it means nothing new is getting introduced into the ecosystem. That’s not healthy for the long-term view of film. Every studio should, like an allowance, allow themselves a certain number of franchise things, and then as an investment in the future, try these risky things that are unproven. At one time, Star Wars was a risky venture.

I would hope that our film will pay back and reward Disney’s investment in the long run, and they will continue to make original films as well as the franchises that are a little more pre-sold.

While that seems like an odd comment coming from a guy who’s currently working on The Incredibles 2 (as Bird readily acknowledges), it makes more sense coming from a guy whose original passion project just flopped. It’s a sad truth that sequels are an easier sell than new ideas (hence why you’re currently reading Sequel Bits and not Original, Untested Concept Bits), but in an ideal world there’d be money enough for both.

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Buried in all the speculation about whether Vin Diesel might direct Furious 8 (answer: no) was an interesting reveal about a different Vin Diesel franchise. In the same Facebook post where he talked up his mom, Diesel mentioned that he’s about to “start production of the long awaited ‘Xander Returns.'” Presumably he’s referring to the new title of xXx 3, which he has confirmed will shoot in the Philippines this winter.

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Bad Boys 3 has gone through many stops and starts over the years, but Will Smith says expect to see it completed the near future. For real this time. “There’s a very, very, very strong possibility that you will be seeing a Bad Boys within the next 12-16 months,” he revealed to Beats 1’s Zane Lowe.

Assuming Smith’s estimate is accurate, that means we’re looking at a late 2016 or early 2017 release for the long-gestating comedy sequel. Joe Carnahanhas been recruited to write the Bad Boys 3 script, but it’s not yet clear if he’ll also direct. Watch Smith and Lowe talk below:

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On the next page, read about the future of Star Trek, a Lego Movie spinoff, Spectre villain rumors, plus get a new look at Mockingjay.